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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · key · wind · rush · club · degree · sharp · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. degree — from a university
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — the amount
  12. rush — hurry
  13. club — for dancing
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. key — for a lock
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. content — happy
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com